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Hezekiah kept the Passover

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[2Chronicles 30:1]

Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh,

inviting them to come to the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem

and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.

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What is the Passover?

The Passover is the greatest season in Israel to remember and worship God

who saved the people of Israel who used to live in slavery in Egypt.

God commanded the Israelites to remember and keep this Passover

on the 14th day of the first month (Jewish calendar, Nisan).

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After the reign of King Solomon, over 200 years,

the Israelites did not keep the Passover properly.

Hezekiah, the fifteenth king of Judah, decided to keep the Passover,

God's command for all Israel.

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Hezekiah tried to keep the Passover not on the first month

but on the 14th day of the second month(Jewish calendar, Iyar).

It was because there was a shortage of priests sanctified to serve God,

and enough time for the people to come to Jerusalem from a distance.

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The plan to keep the Passover, God's command,

was good for King Hezekiah and all the people.

So Hezekiah prepared to proclaim this news from Beersheba in northern Israel to Dan as well as Judah in his reign.

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The messengers, having prepared the letter, took the letter of the king

and his servants and went to all Israel and Judah and declared:

“At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters

from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.”(2Ch 30:6)

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“If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children

will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land,

for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.

He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”(2Ch 30:9)

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The men who were commanded by the king went to Zebulun,

including all the towns of Ephraim and Manasseh.

However, the people of northern Israel were not sympathetic to them.

They ridiculed and scoffed at them.

“Cheeky Judas, do not be ridiculous and serve yourselves well!”

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But some of the people repented of their own wrongs and went to Jerusalem to

come to God again.

God moved the hearts of the people to follow the words of King Hezekiah and his servants.

The command of the king and his servants was in the heart of God.

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In the second month a large crowd gathered in Jerusalem to keep the Passover.

The people destroyed the altars that were in Jerusalem and the altar that smote the false gods, and threw them into the valley of Kidron.

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It's finally the second month, 14th. The people began to gather

in the temple to catch the Passover lamb.

The priests and the Levites were embarrassed when they saw the crowd trying to serve God with all their soul. So they sanctified themselves for the Lord.

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They stood in the temple as they were written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

The Levites gave the priest blood of the sacrifice.

Then the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar.

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Many people in the crowd have not yet sanctified themselves for the Lord.

Because of that, they could not catch the Passover lamb.

So the Levites were held accountable for the Passover lamb for all the unclean people.

The Levites sanctified every sheep for God.

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And Ephraim, and Manasseh, and Issachar, and Zebulun,

who came far away from northern Israel, ate the Passover meal without cleansing themselves. It was breaking the law.

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Hezekiah saw this and prayed to God for them. “Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written.

But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying,

“May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone. who sets their heart on seeking God - the Lord, the God of their ancestors - even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”“(2Ch 30:18~19)

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God who heard Hezekiah's prayer did not punish the people and healed their hearts.

God is pleased to have mercy on His people.

God gives grace to those who turn away from sin and seek to serve God with a sincere heart.

God has received the heart of King Hezekiah and the people of Israel

who tried to keep the Passover in spite of their lack.

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God sent Jesus to this world with the Passover Lamb.

He cleansed all our sins. Let us give thanks to Jesus,

the Passover Lamb who sacrificed himself to save us.

If we faithfully believe in Jesus and worship God with all our sincerity,

we will realize the great mercy and grace God gives us today.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)